The red stag appeared to be shot from the road sometime between the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 4 and Friday, Dec. 6, according to the Maury County Sheriff’s Department. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

“As an agency we appreciate our hunters who do the right thing and follow the bylaws, and it takes a second for someone to ruin it for all of us,” Barry Cross of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency told The Tennessean.

Cross said that the shooting was reported by Bryan’s farm manager.

Red Stag are a species of deer similar to elk and are not native to the U.S. According to Cross, Bryan would have needed to bring the animal to his private property.

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